:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20250325-Mocha-Tres-Leches-Qi-Ai-hero-horizontal-angled-sliceonplate1-d28a688059d14c8faf44ba703b91475f.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1440&ssl=1 "20 Minutes of Active Time Is All You Need for This Luscious Mocha Tres Leches Cake")
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Why It Works
- Using Dutch cocoa powder—which is higher in fat and more aromatic than natural cocoa powder—makes for a more flavorful chocolate cake.
- Instant espresso powder gives the cake its bold coffee flavor.
- Using vegetable oil—a fat that remains fluid when cold—results in a cake that stays soft when refrigerated.
Coffee and chocolate have long been a popular pairing: The bitterness of the coffee enhances the chocolate’s fruity, bittersweet notes, adding a pleasant depth of flavor. This affinity is why you’ll often see a teaspoon or so of instant espresso or coffee in brownies and chocolate mousse. My favorite way to enjoy the combination, though, is the most obvious: as a mocha. The espresso has just enough bitterness to balance the rich sweetness of chocolate and milk, making it a luxurious beverage. That flavor profile is especially delicious in desserts. But why stop at a teaspoon of espresso powder in a dessert when you could just make the whole thing mocha flavored?
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
That brings me to the tres leches cake, which typically consists of a vanilla cake generously soaked in whole milk or heavy cream, along with sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milks, then topped with whipped cream. The cake soaks up the dairy, becoming incredibly moist and almost custard-like. The vanilla cake in classic tres leches has a neutral flavor that makes it a great base for other flavors, and I decided to riff on it by incorporating the flavors of a mocha. The bitterness of the coffee and chocolate complements the rich milky flavors of tres leches cake, and helps temper the dessert’s intense sweetness.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
Instead of going the traditional vanilla route, I make my sponge cake with a combination of cocoa powder and instant espresso, then soak it in a mixture of heavy cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk—all flavored with instant espresso. The final touch is a blanket of whipped cream and a light dusting of cocoa powder and cinnamon.
3 Tips for Making a Stellar Tres Leches Cake
Make a light, fluffy cake. I like to use a chiffon cake as a base for my tres leches cake, as it has an airy crumb that’s perfect for soaking up liquids. Its light texture comes from whipped egg whites that are gently folded into the batter. So, to make a sturdy meringue, it’s crucial to whip the egg whites at a low speed for a long time instead of quickly whipping them at high speed. As Serious Eats senior editor Genevieve touches on in her chocolate mousse recipe, the air bubbles in egg whites become smaller and more stable the longer they’re whisked, resulting in a meringue that’s less likely to deflate—and a delightfully light cake.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
Reach for Dutch-process cocoa powder. As former editor Stella Parks notes in her guide to the best cocoa powders, the ingredient is typically categorized as either natural or Dutch-process. According to Stella, most natural cocoa powders come from poor quality cocoa beans “that have had almost all of their cocoa butter removed,” resulting in a bland powder lacking rich chocolate flavor.
On the other hand, most Dutch-process cocoa powders come from better beans and have twice the amount of fat as natural cocoa powder. This results in “a slightly alkaline cocoa powder that’s higher in fat, lower in starch, and more aromatic all around, with a mahogany color and a flavor profile that emphasizes cocoa’s darker, nuttier, earthier tones.” So for a cake with maximum chocolate flavor—especially one like this in which all of the chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder‚ it’s crucial to reach for a good-quality Dutch-process cocoa powder.
Use instant espresso powder. There are many ways to incorporate coffee into a dessert, including brewed coffee or espresso, coffee extract, or instant espresso powder. Here, I reach for instant espresso powder, which is made by freeze-drying concentrated espresso. Its concentrated flavor makes it ideal for incorporating into desserts, as it brings bold coffee flavor without introducing a bunch of liquid to the cake batter.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This tres leches cake comes together fairly quickly, but then it needs to soak for at least three hours or up to a day. This lengthy soak means the cake is easy to make ahead; that and the fact that the cake serves 15 people makes it perfect for parties.
20 Minutes of Active Time Is All You Need for This Luscious Mocha Tres Leches Cake
Cook Mode
(Keep screen awake)
For the Cake:
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1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
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10 1/4 ounces all-purpose flour (290 g; 2 1/4 cups)
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1 tablespoon baking powder (1/2 ounce; 15 g)
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1 1/2 ounces Dutch-process cocoa powder (40 g; 1/2 cup)
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1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
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2 tablespoons (10 g) instant espresso powder
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6 large eggs, separated (350 g)
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1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
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10 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (300 g; 1 1/2 cups)
For the Soaking Liquid:
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1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
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One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
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One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
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2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
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1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
To Assemble:
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1 1/2 cups (355 ml) heavy cream
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2 1/2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (1 1/4 ounces; 35 g)
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4 1/2 teaspoons Dutch-process cocoa powder, divided
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1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 325°F (160°C). Lightly grease a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
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Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder into a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, combine milk and instant espresso powder. Whisk until espresso powder is dissolved, then stir in vegetable oil. Set aside.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine egg whites and salt. Whip on medium speed until egg whites begin to froth, about 1 minute. Then, with mixer continuing to run at medium speed, slowly and steadily pour in sugar. Continue to whisk until meringue is glossy and reaches stiff peaks, about 8 minutes. Add yolks and beat until just combined
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
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With the stand mixer running on low, sprinkle in about 1/3 of the flour mixture, then drizzle in 1/3 of the milk and coffee mixture. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, and mix, using a flexible spatula to scrape the bowl and beaters as needed, until batter is well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a flexible spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean and cake springs back when gently touched, 30 to 35 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. (Clean mixer bowl and set aside.)
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
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For the Soaking Liquid: In a medium bowl, combine heavy cream, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, instant espresso powder, and salt, and whisk until espresso powder has dissolved, about 1 minute.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
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Run an offset spatula or butter knife around edges of cake to loosen. Invert cake onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, carefully remove top of cake to level it; set scraps aside for snacking or another use. Return the cake to the pan and, using a skewer or fork, poke holes across surface of cake. Pour half of the soaking liquid all over the cake. Let liquid fully absorb, about 5 minutes, then pour remaining liquid over cake. Loosely cover baking pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
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To Assemble: In the now-clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder, and salt. Beat on medium-high speed until medium-stiff peaks form, 2 to 4 minutes. Using a flexible or offset spatula, spread whipped cream over cake to cover.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
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Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift remaining 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and cinnamon mixture over whipped cream. Slice and serve.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
Special Equipment:
9- by 13-inch baking pan, fine-mesh sieve, stand mixer, flexible spatula, toothpick or cake tester, offset spatula or butter knife
Make-Ahead and Storage:
Once baked and cooled (through step 4), the cake can be tightly wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.
The cake should be served within 24 hours of soaking.
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